Once I've worked out how to do a blog roll thing, I'll be adding blogs I follow to my main page. In the meantime, I received this email in my inbox yesterday. I did a course (ha! govt funded as part of some 'professional development') a few years ago with Dr David Keane:
www.drdavidkeane.com
Dr David Keane has developed what he calls essential things for leading a "deliberate" life. It was good to get his email, because the timing was bang on in terms of resonating with what I have been thinking/posting about anyway. But more than that, it was good to reflect that since I did his course (about 2-3 years ago) actually my life has become deliberate, and therefore my quality of life has improved.
I'm going to email him back, but here's his email to me (and others!) as I think it is worth sharing, especially the Huxley quote:
The Things We Believe
Dear Hebequeen, (actually Dr Keane doesn't call me Hebequeen! but for the purposes of this blog he does!)
The beginning of July marks the mid-point in the year and a good time to review how your year is going. As a participant in one of my workshops, you’ll know that I define what I call REAL Success as “being on the pathway to the achievement of worthwhile dreams – whatever they may be.” This applies to both your work and outside of work life. So, are you on your pathway to success?
Over the next couple of days, as you review your situation, you may find it helpful to bring to mind some of the beliefs you have about success.
If your experience is anything like mine, you’ll discover that some of the things we believe are simply not true. For example, how often have you heard the saying that “practice makes perfect?” It’s something we say to ourselves when we’re getting to grips with a new skill or when we are trying something new for the first time. But when you really think about it, is this true?
If practice makes perfect, it means the repeated doing of it will help you to become noticeably better and better. So far, so good. But what if what you’re doing is already pretty good, do more repetitions really matter that much? Would your time and efforts be better spent moving on to something else where perhaps your skills level is not that good?
The problem with the “practice makes perfect” approach to life is that it downplays the value of making mistakes and getting it wrong. And because the phrase is silent on the value of errors, we may begin to shy away from and shun the making of mistakes. In truth, the making of mistakes is where we really get the most value because that is where we do the most learning.
In his wonderful book, Failing Forward, John C. Maxwell has written extensively about the value of turning mistakes into stepping-stones for success. He teaches that when we alter our beliefs and begin to become friendly with failure, we no longer fear obstacles, but see it instead as an opportunity for becoming better
.
Aldous Huxley had this to say:
“ Experience is not what happens to you.
Experience is what you do with what happens to you. ”
Perhaps we should really embrace the idea that “imperfect practice makes perfect!”
With Best Wishes,
David Keane
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